A Little Dessert
by WitchyGirl99
Summary: Kagome is a waitress who always looks after Inuyasha's table. Inuyasha is a player with a new girl every week. He likes the restaurant and the service Kagome gives. Secretly? He doesn't really come for the dessert, unless you think of it that way. InuKag
1. The Sizzle

_**Dedication: **To SuperGirl77 (her pen name is strangely familiar...YOU COPY CAT :D) for prompting me to "hurry my ass up and write the damn thing." Well, there._

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha. I do not profit from this story._

* * *

**A Little Dessert**

_**The Sizzle**_

* * *

Kagome had never been more bored in her entire life.

"It's so dead," Yuka yawned, resting her hip against the host stand.

"Really dead," Eri agreed, nodding her head and looking at Kagome with a small smile. "This is what we get for working Wednesdays."

"It's so hit or miss. We either get slammed with customers or we're so dead it's like the grave," Ayumi murmured, leaning against the back wall. She looked around the front entrance quickly, making sure no managers were around so she could cross her arms.

Kagome nodded without saying anything, preferring to stare out the glass doors at the rain falling in a steady mist. It was nine-thirty at night and the restaurant still didn't close for another hour and a half. The bar was open even later so Kagome made a mental note that she was glad she worked the dining room most weekdays. _Barrel's Steakhouse and Bar_ was a fine dining restaurant chain that was famously known for its expensive prices but unbelievably good food. Kagome had worked there for a couple years, paying for her clothing in high school and now rent and groceries in university. She worked Monday to Thursday, and switched been being a bartender or dining room server on Saturdays.

"Why haven't you been cut yet?" Eri asked, nudging Kagome and giving her an inquisitive look. "I thought you opened today."

"I traded with Ayame for a close," the server explained, sighing. "I wanted to make more money for my trip next month."

"Ooh, where are you going?" Ayumi asked, huddling on the other side of Kagome and effectively trapping her between the three chatty hostesses.

"My best friend's wedding," Kagome replied with a small smile. "She's marrying the man opposite to that of her dreams." Laughing to herself with the strange looks that the other three were giving her, Kagome shook her head. "It's complicated but they are perfect for each other in almost every way."

"Okay then," Yuka murmured, looking at the other hostesses with an odd look. "Well at least you'll have fun. Are you a bridesmaid?"

"Maid of honour," Kagome corrected, smiling. "I'm throwing the most wicked bachelorette party though. Sango will be so embarrassed with all of the male strippers I hired."

"I bet," Eri giggled.

Kagome looked out the door again to see that a couple were walking in. One was a tall dark-haired man with a handsome face and toned muscles. His shirt clung to his upper body from the rain and his jeans hung a little lower than probably intended. The woman beside him looked extremely displeased, patting her long straight hair. She looked like a model, wearing a tight dress and stunning pair of high heels.

"Table fifty-nine," Yuka murmured, looking at Kagome and watching as the server left for the kitchen.

"Honestly? You think they'd prefer the dining room over the bar? The woman is dressed like she wants to go clubbing," Ayumi pointed out, trying to hide her smile as the couple approached.

The woman looked at the bar longingly while the male rolled his eyes at her. "Table for two, _dining room_," he said firmly, narrowing his eyes at Ayumi who had to turn around because she was giggling so much.

"Eri will show you to your table," Yuka said with a smile, nudging the other hostess. "Enjoy your meal."

"But Inuyasha..." the woman started, trailing off with a small sigh before being tugged along.

"Thank you," he said, looking at Yuka gratefully before being led to their table.

Eri smiled as she walked to the far back of the restaurant. Since there were so few people at this time of night, the dining room was generally empty. She led them up a small set of stairs before waving her arm towards a large four-person booth.

"Well this is quaint," the woman said sharply, taking her place in the booth and giving a tight smile to Eri.

Having seated her fair share of rude men and women, Eri gave back her best smile and waited until the man named Inuyasha was seated before handing them both a menu. Taking the extra cutlery, Eri looked at both guests. "Your server Kagome will be taking care of you this evening. Enjoy your meal," she said kindly, leaving without looking back at the snide woman.

Kagome watched Eri's face in amusement as the girl walked past. "Who's worse: the man or the woman?"

"The woman," Eri said, grinning. "I almost feel bad for him."

"To each his own I guess," Kagome murmured before following the path Eri just travelled back towards the booth. She took a brief moment to watch the couple interact. The woman was making comments too soft for her to hear but the distinct sound of his gruff voice snapping back at her led her to believe this was not a willing meal. Making her way to the booth, she smiled at both of them. "Hi, how are you?" she asked politely.

It could have been her imagination, but the man's open stare might have lasted just a bit too long. "Fine thank you," he said, cutting off the woman whose mouth was wide open to talk.

"Great, well my name is Kagome and I will be taking care of you this evening. Can I start you both off with some drinks?"

"I'll have a gin and tonic please," the woman said quickly, before the man could cut her off. "Inuyasha will have the same."

The man, Inuyasha, barked a laugh. "That's funny Kikyo," he told her, looking from the woman back to Kagome. "What do you have on tap?"

Listing off the multiple beers, Kagome took a deep breath at the end, grinning. Inuyasha picked his drink quickly and Kagome in turn looked back at the woman. "Would you like your gin and tonic Barrel-sized?"

"No thank you," Kikyo said, glaring at Inuyasha.

"Then I'll be right back with your drinks," Kagome said sweetly, turning around. At least with the alcohol these two seemed interested in consuming, she'd make a decent tip on a high bill.

Kagome made her way to the bar out front, smiling at the bartender Hojo while she gave him her order. "How are the ladies tonight?" Kagome asked, laughing at Hojo's barely concealed wince.

"They're fine. The night is still young though so we'll see how quickly that changes." Hojo grinned at her, giving her the gin and tonic before moving on to the beer. "And how are your tables? Are we dead in the dining room?"

"Almost," Kagome answered, thinking of the very few tables inside. There were only three other servers on besides herself, which signalled a very slow Wednesday night. She took the beer when it was offered to her before giving one last smile and walking off. As she made her way back to the table with Inuyasha and Kikyo, she tried not to trip when she saw the clearly pissed off looks of both individuals. "Great," she whispered sarcastically.

Anger generally led to bad tips, even if she had nothing to do with it.

"And here you go," she said as a way of greeting, waiting for them both to pull back before settling the alcohol down in front of them. Both of their menus were still open and by the looks on their faces, they hadn't even given it a look over. It didn't matter – she had to give her sizzle anyways. "So is it your first time at _Barrel's_?" Her managers preferred _Barrel's Steakhouse and Bar_ but she felt that was far too overdone.

"My first," the woman said, calmly but without looking at her. The man, Inuyasha, shook his head.

"Alright well then welcome," Kagome said, plastering on the smile that wasn't really fake and wasn't really genuine. Generally, she never had to fake a smile unless a table was overly difficult and while this table seemed easy, the couple looked like they were going to strangle each other at any moment. "If you open the first part of the menu on your right hand side you can see the new feature we have currently. Every item on the menu is a special dish where a percentage of the proceeds go to our children's foundation. If you're looking for something to fill you up, I would definitely recommend the T-Bone. It is sixteen ounces of marinated, tender steak that we'll cook to any degree you wish. If you'd prefer something smaller, I would definitely recommend the filet minion. It's our most tender steak, wrapped in Applewood smoked bacon and done to absolute perfection. Generally our sides are a baked potato with grilled vegetables but you can switch them around for sweet potato fries, a twice-baked potato or steamed asparagus."

Kikyo merely looked at her, a small smile tilting her lips. "Do you have that memorized?"

"Not even close," Kagome replied honestly. "I sell to the individual customer, not the general public." It was true. If she was serving a table of men, she would sizzle the big steaks like the Baseball sirloin or New Yorks. If she had a table of women, she would promote steaks that tasted amazing well-done, since women generally liked their meat with no juice. "I'll give you a moment to decide if you wish."

"Please," Inuyasha said kindly, briefly glancing at her before looking back down at the menu.

Kagome turned away, just in time to see Eri leaving another table in her section. Sighing and bringing up a smile, she walked her way up to the elderly couple and did it all again.

Kagome knew that as far as dates go, the couple she was taking care of in booth fifty-nine was not having a good one. Conversation sounded stilted, and while she tried to give them as much space as her service requirements allowed, it was hard when all of her tables where in the same area. She currently had three on the go but right now she was dealing with the elderly couple at table fifty-eight. The woman had figured it out but the elderly man still had to decide what he wanted. She had made several suggestions but the man was having none of it. It wasn't like she worked there and knew what dishes were the best or anything like _that_.

"Inuyasha, you won't even look at me." The female's voice – Kikyo's voice – was calm, reminding Kagome of the saying 'the calm before the storm'.

_Wait_, she told herself. This was obviously private. She instead focused on the humming of the old man, still trying to pick between the prime rib and the top sirloin.

"It probably has something to do with the fact you reek of sex."

Okay, she definitely wasn't listening. If only they would talk a little quieter then it wouldn't be a problem.

"Inuyasha–"

"Save it Kikyo," Inuyasha said sharply. It didn't matter though because Kagome could tell just by the sound of his voice that he was hurt. "I don't want your excuses."

Kikyo was silent for a moment longer before a small, choked laugh came out. "It's not like I don't notice the looks you give, just like the one you shared with the waitress."

"Kagome?"

The old man's grunt shook her back to reality and she forced down the blush crawling up her cheeks from being caught. She was being nosy and rude and it went against everything she believed in. "I'm sorry sir. Could you tell me that again?"

She just wished that the elderly man had interrupted her before Kikyo uttered her last sentence or after Inuyasha gave his response. What look had they shared? She wasn't aware of it, whatever it was.

She took down the man's order and then passed Inuyasha and Kikyo. It looked like things were going to get ugly though and quickly making a decision she walked over. "How is everybody doing?" she asked, plastering on a fake smile. It was only after she realized how awkward her question was. She hurriedly moved along. "Sir, would you like another drink?" It was more or less empty anyways so it wasn't unjustified to ask.

"If you would," Inuyasha said, giving her a smile that could only be described as a half-ass smirk.

"That's it," Kikyo said, standing up abruptly and gathering her purse. "We're done."

Kagome looked at the woman with wide eyes, wondering what it was she said or did. "I'm going to–"

"Don't bother," the woman said, not unkindly but not particularly happy either. "Inuyasha we're done."

"Just like that?" he asked, his brown eyes wide.

Kagome still felt like it would be best if she left so she backed away slowly. It was only respectful, leaving them to talk on their own. It startled her how abrupt the conversation had turned.

_It's not like I don't notice the looks you give, just like the one you shared with the waitress._

But...what look? The guy barely looked at her all night. And just then he didn't even make an effort to smile. Kagome wasn't even convinced the look was genuine. It probably wasn't, considering how tense the night was. Honestly, what look was there?

She attended to her other tables, making sure table sixty was enjoying their appetizers and ensuring them that their meal would be out soon. She ran some food out to the bar, which was now heavily packed with men and women drinking. When she couldn't put it off any longer, she walked back to table fifty-nine, half-expecting no one to be there. It would suck because the alcohol would come out of her pocket but people tended to forget things like _bills_ when a fight was happening.

Or a break-up, which is sure as hell what it sounded like.

Kagome almost felt bad.

Yet, as she turned the corner and saw the booth, the man was still sitting there, looking over the menu. His drink was empty and Kagome cringed, wondering if another drink was in order. She knew if he decided to get drunk, she'd have to cut him off before he was smashed out of his mind. How the hell was she even supposed to approach him?

He didn't even look up when she made her way there, the front of her apron pressing against the wooden table. "I'm sorry," she blurted out, slamming her mouth shut the moment it was out.

The man, Inuyasha, looked up at her confused. "What the hell are you sorry about? If anything I should be apologizing."

Kagome shrugged, helpless as to what to do or say. She noticed though that even with the opportunity, the man didn't apologize. It was strange. "Do you want another beer?"

Inuyasha nodded, looking amused. "Please and if you could make sure that's my last one, I would appreciate it. I have to drive home."

Kagome nodded instantly, almost relieved that he had given himself the cut off. "Have you decided on what to eat?"

"You know what?" Inuyasha started, folding the menu and looking up at her, "I'll go with what you said. The T-Bone steak, please."

"It comes with a baked potato and three-cheese butter. Is that alright?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "What do you think?"

Kagome frowned, not understanding. "What do you mean?"

"If you were ordering a side with the steak, what would you choose?" He spoke as if she was three years-old. She felt indignant by it.

"I personally prefer the twice-baked potato. It's probably the best thing I've ever tasted," she replied honestly. "I sometimes just order that. It comes with green onions and bacon bits already baked in."

"And the vegetables?"

It was almost like she was being questioned. "I like them so I would keep them as a side."

Inuyasha nodded. "I'll have that then."

Kagome shook her head, snapping out of her stupor. "How would you like your steak done?"

"What are my options?"

This was definitely a quiz. She honestly didn't get it. "The options are blue rare, rare, medium-rare, medium, medium-well, well-done and Chicago; although, I wouldn't recommend anything past medium-well."

"Medium-rare for me please," Inuyasha insisted, smirking.

Kagome was dumbfounded. "I'll be out with that as soon as it's ready."

She walked away from the table as fast as she could.

There were tons of things she had to do. After running out table sixty's food, refilling table fifty-eight's drinks and running more food out to the bar, Kagome almost groaned when she made it back to the kitchen.

"Shippo," she murmured, letting her head rest against the tile wall. "Kill me now please."

Shippo, a young man with a mop of orange hair and sparkling green eyes laughed. "Oh come on Kags, it can't be that bad."

Kagome glared at him, telling him what happened between Kikyo and Inuyasha. "It's not like I even wanted to be there to witness it," she continued, looking at Shippo with wide eyes. "I mean, she told me not to leave and then I hesitated and then I fled! I mean, she was breaking up with him right in front of me and what was I supposed to do? And they weren't exactly quiet when they were talking either! I could hear them while I was taking orders for my other tables."

Shippo's grin was still in place but he was shaking his head. "That's shitty," he concluded. "At least he didn't bail on you."

"Thank goodness for that," Kagome conceded, running up to the expo when he called for hands. She grabbed more food and with Shippo's help, brought the five plates to table sixty. With them taken care of, she walked past Inuyasha, noticing that his drink was low but not finished. "Do you want something else to drink? Water or Pepsi perhaps?"

Inuyasha looked startled, like he was snapping out of a daydream. "Water, please," he said, giving her another smirk.

Kagome nodded, turning around to see that table fifty-eight's order had just been given to them. She sighed thankfully and went back to the kitchen for the water.

This was going to be a long night.

An hour later and all of her tables were taken care of. The dining room was closed and while tables sixty and forty-eight left some time ago, Inuyasha was finishing eating at fifty-nine. She hesitated in the kitchen, Shippo waving at her goodbye because all of his tables were finished before hers. It sucked because she had an earlier cut than he did.

_Just get it over with_, she thought to herself, sighing. Inuyasha had been strange to say the least. While he quizzed her when ordering his food, he never asked for much of anything else. His steak had been done to perfection and he told her so around a mouthful of masticated food. She couldn't really tell what it was anymore but she assumed it was a combination of all three.

Walking up to the table, she smiled at Inuyasha. His plate was clean and he was leaning back with his eyes closed. "Are you finished?" she said quietly so not to startle him.

Inuyasha looked at her with his deep brown eyes. "Well that plate's empty so I'm guessing."

Kagome held her tongue, keeping the '_trust me, I only ask out of courtesy_' comeback inside. Her manager would kill her for being rude to him. It was pretty hard sometimes. Guests would come in and yell, scream, complain, throw things and insult them to the point of utter insanity but they couldn't get a word in edgewise. Some nights, the only thing that kept her coming back was the decent-sized wad of cash she walked out with. _Barrel's_ insisted on astounding service while providing a product that was top quality. The only reason they got to charge a forty percent mark-up compared to most chain restaurants was because they excelled both areas.

Grabbing the plate, she smiled again. "Would you like to take a look at the dessert menu? Any coffee or tea for you?"

"No thank you, just the bill." He leaned back in the booth and closed his eyes.

Well, thank goodness for the small things. Hurrying back into the kitchen, she left the plates to be washed before finalizing the bill. She double-checked to make sure everything was correct before putting it in the billfold and handing it to him.

Kagome did everything as fast as she possibly could. It was getting close to midnight and all she wanted to do was go home and rest. She had work at nine in the morning at her second job and she couldn't even imagine the crap she'd have to deal with there. Sometimes customer service was not fun in any way, shape or form.

She handed him back his slip when he paid by credit card and left him to sign the bill. He didn't say a word to her, even though she bid him a good night and safe drive home. Vaguely, Kagome wondered what happened between the intense questioning and the sudden silent treatment. She didn't care either way – it was just to feed her curiosity.

Her chores for the night were next but when she was cashed out and dressed to go home, she was startled by her manager, Kaede, grabbing her arm. "Kagome, child," the woman said, giving a soft smile. "The gentleman with the long black hair just told me what excellent service you provided."

"Oh," Kagome said, frowning and confused. "Really?"

Kaede mimicked her. "Yes, why? Is that hard to believe?"

"No, no," she answered quickly, smiling. "It was just a...strange table."

Kaede took this in stride, merely nodding. Strange tables came in all the time. Strange people with strange lives and strange habits were always entering and leaving _Barrel's Steakhouse and Bar_. It was just another night.

Kagome took a deep breath of fresh air as she walked outside, letting the brisk air stir her senses before she went to her car to go home.

That was the very first time she met Inuyasha and at the time, she thought it would be her very last.

She was wrong.

* * *

_What did you think? There is more to come!_


	2. The Appetizer

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha. I do not profit from this story._

* * *

**A Little Dessert**

_**The Appetizer**_

* * *

"Oh my god Kagome, you need to see this!"

Kagome blinked at her two friends Rin and Ayame, who were ogling some large booth in the corner...of her section? "What?"

"Have you talked to table twenty-one yet?" Rin asked, blinking her milky brown eyes. "He is like _the sexiest thing walking_."

"Sitting," Ayame corrected, giggling. "You have to talk to him!"

Kagome sighed, wondering why Rin and Ayame had taken it upon themselves to thoroughly inspect all of the men at _Barrel's_. She liked to believe that it was pure entertainment but the way they gossiped for hours on end about it – and weeks after the male customer left – didn't seem likely. "I need to bring these Mojitos to table nineteen. Why do you know the tables in my section?"

Waving her hand dismissively, Ayame just giggled again. "He's so hot."

"Don't you have tables to attend to?" Kagome snapped, although her tone was light-hearted. "Go run food. The expo is yelling for hands."

"Ruin the fun why don't you?" Rin muttered, grinning nonetheless. "You better give us all the juicy info."

Rolling her eyes, Kagome wondered how she even became friends with those two girls. She loved them to pieces but they both desperately needed to get laid. Approaching table nineteen, a pair of women chatting about their stupid husbands, Kagome handed them each their Mojitos. "For you," she murmured, smiling politely at the one woman before looking at the other. "And this is for you."

"What do you think?" the first woman asked, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "Do you think that if your husband was seeing another woman behind your back – even though he swears they never touched or kissed or whatever – does that count as cheating?"

The second woman nodded, her short brown hair bouncing. "What do you think?"

In the many years that Kagome had been serving, she had learned what to say to best please the customers. These two women were obviously looking to make their husbands look bad so answering them with her honest "no" was not the correct answer. "I don't think it's _cheating_," Kagome replied, emphasizing the word. "However, I think it's deceitful, which is just as bad. In order for a relationship, in my opinion, to work you need to be truthful and honest with each other. He should have mentioned seeing the woman because if it was as casual as he's implying with the whole 'no touching' business, then there would be no problem with him seeing her, right?"

"Deceitful bastard," the brown-haired woman agreed, raising her Mojito. You, Kagome, are good."

Smiling, Kagome excused herself from the table when they told her they had yet to decide on dinner. Quickly approaching the infamous table twenty-one, Kagome put on her best smile.

It wasn't until his long black hair came into view that she knew who Rin and Ayame were going _coo-coo for coco puffs_ over. She still didn't really know him. Wasn't his name Inu-something-something-something? It had been over a week since the last time they met.

"Well it's nice to see you back," Kagome said, grinning and leaning on the booth casually. Looking at the man and then the woman, she realized it wasn't the same one as last time.

"Back?" the woman asked, her lips curving into a small frown. "You come here often Inuyasha?"

Ah ha! Inuyasha was his name! Kagome filed the information away for later since he seemed to be a regular customer of _Barrel's_. She didn't mind that in the least bit – the guy tipped her a solid thirty percent last time. That alone made up a good chunk of her tip money, totalling all of it to be worth her month's rent. _Thank god_.

"I was here last week," Inuyasha said, smirking at the woman. "Is that a problem?"

"Oh no," the woman said, shrugging and giving Kagome a soft expression. "What would you recommend to drink? I've decided on a martini but I'm not sure what's good."

"Do you like apple flavour?" Kagome asked, shifting over so that she was standing close to Inuyasha's date. She opened the bar menu and pointed at a drink down the long list. "This is my favourite. It's not overpowering like a lot of apple-flavoured drinks and you hardly taste the alcohol. Many of the customers who have tried it enjoyed it."

"Then I'll have that," the woman agreed, smiling. "What about you Inuyasha?"

"Kagome knows," Inuyasha said simply, winking his dark brown eyes at her. "Isn't that right?"

"Sure," she laughed, "let's go with that."

Walking away from them, she noticed the curious gaze of Ayame on her back. She sighed mentally. This was not going to be easy to explain when she was running hot plates and taking multiple orders at a time. Plugging in the drink order on the computer, Kagome turned to the service bar with her print out.

"A Corona and a martini?" the cute woman behind the counter asked, looking at her with wide eyes. "What an interesting couple you have there."

"Kirara, you should just be happy that all of my tables include alcoholics or you would be bored out of your mind."

Sighing, the blonde agreed. "How sadly true that is."

Drinks made up, Kagome just barely managed to escape Rin walking in, mouth already open with questions. Obviously Ayame had told her how friendly she had been to Mr. Sexiest-Thing-Sitting. Walking back to the table, Kagome noticed how interesting their body language was. The woman was leaning forwards on the table with her hands folded somewhere near the middle. Inuyasha was leaning all the way back in his seat with his arms crossed. While this date was surely a better one than last week's, Kagome was almost positive that it was an unwilling one on his part.

Handing out the drinks, Kagome let them position the glasses to their liking before starting in on her _sizzle_. Like the last time, her sizzle was a short spiel that every server had to make up to sell particular kinds of food. While in some restaurants the managers told you what to sell, _Barrel's Steakhouse and Bar_ let you choose. Generally servers attempted to sell the most expensive while others tried to sell the monthly feature. Kagome personally changed hers up according to the customer and the chef working the grill. If she talked about an A-plus steak, it better come out A-plus or her tip would plummet. After working there for years, Kagome was comfortable with the constant change-up in her sizzle, whereas most servers weren't.

The entire time, Inuyasha seemed engrossed. He watched her intently, tilting his head and nodding in all the right spots. He even smirked at her a few times, which was weird in her opinion because couldn't he _smile_? The woman mostly looked at the menu, especially at the items Kagome pointed out. In the end, the two ordered their meal. Inuyasha chose the feature she highly recommended and the woman – who she had learned was named Nazuna – ordered the cheapest thing on the menu.

Well, you couldn't win them all.

The night went by in a blur of running food, taking orders and chatting up the guests. It was a Saturday and the wait to get in was over an hour for smaller tables of two and four. At one point, she had been triple-sat, making her run around like her head was lost. She made sure that her service was the quality that her managers would appreciate and by the time the wait was over, she had already made a couple hundred dollars in tips.

The funny thing about it was Inuyasha and his date Nazuna were still there.

Nazuna was pretty tipsy, hiccupping and laughing a little too loudly. Kagome didn't mind mostly because the girl was a funny drunk and made coming to the table a lot more enjoyable. Inuyasha was his same self – if Kagome could call it that. He smirked at her, interrogated her when ordering food and then quieted down.

"Inuyasha– Hey, are you listening to me?" Nazuna demanded, pouting. Kagome had just been passing the table when she heard the exclamation. It was strange again because even though he was getting yelled at, he was staring right at her.

Kagome gave a small smile before continuing on her way back to the kitchen. Table nineteen wanted an additional side of garlic cheese bread, table eighteen needed a refill on all of their drinks and table twenty's food had yet to be brought out. She rushed into her tasks without even thinking, having repeated the same actions over and over again through the years. She was just bringing out the refills to table eighteen when the same girl yelled again.

"Dammit Inuyasha! It's like the moment the stupid waitress walks by you zone out!"

Kagome tensed. Not this again.

"That's not true Nazuna," Inuyasha said a bit roughly, like his throat was sore. "You've just been talking all night and asking me a million questions. I'm not even sure how you managed to eat with all the talking you do. Please, let my vocal chords rest for a moment."

Ouch.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" Kagome asked the table of three people, watching them all shake their heads before making sure that table nineteen's food was cooked to their liking. When she passed table twenty-one – Inuyasha's table – she wasn't surprised to see him alone and the woman storming away down the aisle.

That was...just great.

"I see you're finished with dessert," Kagome said, trying to sound cheery. If she pretended that she didn't notice the exchange, everything would be fine. She still didn't really understand though. That was the second woman to freak out because of something she did or didn't do. Things with the first chick had obviously been bad before they entered and then this girl, Nazuna, obviously annoyed the hell out of him.

Inuyasha nodded. "If I could just have the bill it would be great."

"Not a problem, I'll be right back with it." Kagome held onto the smile until she walked into the kitchen, letting slip into the cool mask she usually kept. She wasn't allowed to look unhappy here – it gave guests the wrong impression. She brought up the bill on the computer, double checked it and then printed it out. Inuyasha's credit card was already on the table and she took care of it, smiling as she wished him a good night.

"You take care," he said, sounding tired.

At that, her expression softened. She couldn't ever get a read on this mysterious dark-haired man named Inuyasha. He was almost unreadable given for the few seconds he let his facade slip. "Yeah you too, I'll see you around."

She didn't actually expect to see him again. Once was usually the most and twice was a rare occurrence.

It didn't matter though. Kagome took the billfold after he left, calculating the tip he left her in her head. _More_, he gave her a forty percent tip. Fifteen was the general minimum for decent service. At_Barrel's_, she was used to getting twenty because their service was a step up from the rest.

But _forty_?

Kagome smiled, oddly thankful to the strange guy that constantly helped pay her rent. She kept busy the rest of the night, just to avoid the questions Rin and Ayame were waiting to pounce on her.

Maybe she should expect to see him again after all.

* * *

"You are the luckiest woman _alive_," Rin said quietly in her ear. "I would die to be you right now."

"What?" Kagome asked, frowning. She had literally just walked into the restaurant. Her shift didn't start for another half-hour and in that time she had to dress, take a look at the new features, shine her glasses and punch in. "Why am I lucky?"

"Isn't this perfect?" Kagome turned around yet again to see her manager, Kaede, reaching out for her. Instantly she frowned because if Kaede was talking to a customer it was typically a bad thing.

And then she saw him.

"Ayumi will show you to your table," Kaede said, smiling warmly at Inuyasha and yet another woman. "Please, enjoy your meal."

Smirking wickedly at her, Inuyasha gave a light wave before turning to follow Ayumi into the restaurant.

Kagome didn't even have time to ask questions.

"You have five minutes child," Kaede said, pushing Kagome with strength seemingly impossible for her to have towards the kitchen. "You need to get dressed and ready. He _refused_ to sit in anyone else's section, saying that you were the only competent worker. He called you a true asset to the restaurant and that I should give you a raise."

Laughing nervously, either because of Kaede's hidden strength or the quiet way she talked, Kagome shrugged. "That's nice of him, right?" Only Kaede could make a sentence like that sound like a potentially bad thing.

"I don't know what you did child, but keep it up." Heading back towards the office, Kaede didn't even wish her luck.

Shit and now she had no time to get ready.

Stumbling out of the bathroom moments later with her dress pants and white button-up shirt, Kagome threw on her apron haphazardly and grabbed her card. Punching herself in, she ran around the restaurant, completely forgetting the fact that she didn't even know what tables she was working. Running back to the front, Kagome spotted Ayumi and panted. "What section?"

"Forty-five to forty-eight," Ayumi replied, saying something else that Kagome didn't hear because she had already taken off.

It wasn't hard to find Inuyasha and his new date. It had been almost a week since she last saw him and now she was getting a bit confused. However, he _did_ request her specifically. Even that was strange – she never did anything super outstanding for him. She did better sizzles and gave greater service to other tables who said not a word to Kaede. It didn't make sense.

"Sorry about the wait," Kagome said, giving a bright smile. "And welcome back. I guess it was lucky I was just walking in."

"I guess it was," Inuyasha said, smirking again. Kagome was convinced by now that it wasn't possible for him to smile. "And how are you doing?"

"I'm well," Kagome answered honestly, smiling still. "I've been really busy with work and everything."

"Good." Inuyasha was still watching her, dark eyes amused. "Well you already know what I want to drink. Yura, what do you want?"

It was the first time that Kagome actually took notice to his date. The woman looked tall but it was hard to judge when they were sitting down. She wore a tight, low-cut top and a...bitter smile. Well joy. This was going to be another eventful evening, Kagome could tell.

"I would like a Cosmopolitan, please," she said curtly, eyeing her up and down before looking back at Inuyasha. "Now, darling, what were you saying?"

If there was a dismissal, that was certainly one. Kagome could almost feel the sting in it, which was a weird thing for her to feel. Inuyasha gave her one last glance before turning his attention back to his date, Yura the bitch.

Kagome sighed and walked away, printing off the order and handing it to the service bar again. It was a Friday night, so the bar was generally too busy to do the drinks alone. Kirara was working again, her blonde hair pulled up in a bun and her wicked blue eyes framed with eyeliner. "You are my best friend," she laughed when Kagome gave her the slip. "You are one lucky girl."

Kagome smiled. "I know. I'm not sure but I think the alcoholics are attracted to me or something. I always get sat the tables dying for drinks."

Kirara leaned down, whispering conspiringly in her ears. "The other servers think that the hostesses are doing it on purpose because they like you better."

"Well that shows how much they know," Kagome whispered back, grinning. "The hostesses actually prefer all the guys that work here – especially Shippo."

"He is a sweetheart," Kirara agreed, already finished pouring the beer and now waiting to finish the Cosmo. "I see it's a Corona you've asked for with another exotic drink. Don't tell me: is it that super sexy guy again?"

Kagome groaned. "Why does everyone know about him?" she asked, leaning against the counter. "It's bad enough Rin and Ayame torture me for details I can't give. The guy is weird and nice and strange. I don't know."

Laughing, Kirara placed the drink on the tray before giving a pointed stare. "With drinks like these, you should be happy."

"I should be happy," Kagome repeated, sighing. "I am happy."

"That's the spirit," Kirara said, shooing Kagome away when another order came in. "Now go and be free."

Kagome took the drinks and walked back to table forty-seven, where Inuyasha was sitting. She handed them the drinks and did her sizzle, ignoring Inuyasha's blatant smirk while he prepared for their game.

Yes, Kagome now referred to it as their _game_.

"I want the prime rib," Inuyasha said, handing her the menu.

"Ten ounces or fourteen?" Kagome asked, knowing exactly what he was going to counter with.

Inuyasha smirked. "What do you think?"

Smiling, Kagome rolled her eyes. "I can never eat more than ten ounces but surely you can get through the fourteen. How would you like it prepared?"

"What do you think is best?"

"Medium rare," Kagome said, waiting for the nod of approval before going on. "That comes with our baked potato with three cheese butter. Is that alright?"

"What other sides would you recommend?"

"I personally enjoy the twice-baked potato a lot better. It's comes with bacon and green onions already inside it." She had repeated this to him multiple times already – hence the game. Inuyasha nodded and she smiled. Most servers would kill themselves slowly over their game but Kagome quite enjoyed it. It helped her to remember all of the questions she needed to do her job right.

Yura looked anything but pleased by the banter. "I would like the chicken please, with the salad."

"What kind of salad: house, Caesar or spinach?"

"House, but I want the dressing on the side," Yura said absentmindedly.

"Absolutely," Kagome said, writing it all down before smiling. "Would both of you like water?"

Smirking Inuyasha nodded and Kagome walked away, happier than she had felt in the long time. It was strange, considering moments ago she was somewhat exasperated over the whole ordeal. She wasn't surprised that when she turned around she had another table and happily she went at it.

When the food was ready, Kagome stacked up the plates on her arm to bring to Inuyasha's table. She smiled politely when Inuyasha came into view, feeling a strange twist in her chest the moment his dark eyes fell on her. The closer she got, the more it seemed like he was focusing on her and not his date, Yura the bitch.

"And here you are," Kagome said, smiling at the couple. "For you," she murmured, directing the plate with chicken and salad to Yura the bitch before handing the prime rib off to Inuyasha. She took a few steps back to a station and grabbed the pepper, asking the standard "fresh ground pepper at all?" A lot of customers laughed at how her voice sounded like a flight attendant, like she wasn't saying "slow roasted and marinated for twenty-four hours" but instead "your fire exits are located at the front, middle and back of the plane..."

"Thanks Kagome," Inuyasha said, smirking pleasantly after she finished with the pepper. "Can I have another beer?"

"Of course," she replied, taking the empty glass. She looked over at Yura the bitch, plastering on the smile. "Would you too like another?"

"To get through this dinner? Please." Yura rolled her eyes, stabbing at the leafy greens in the salad. "You two are pathetic."

Kagome frowned. Not again.

"Excuse me?" Inuyasha asked, looking at the woman sharply.

Yura snorted, dropping her cutlery on the plate with a clatter. "You stare at her _all _the time. It's terrible. And she _smiles_ at you all the time. It's like watching fucking Romeo and Juliet, only the cheap restaurant version."

"We're actually not cheap," Kagome commented, feeling that the point was somewhat valid. She knew Yura the bitch probably meant the whole Romeo and Juliet concept and not the actual restaurant. Still, Kagome felt like too many of these dates were ruined without her saying a word.

But then she realized how easily she could get fired for that and how easily her rent would suffer from lack of income.

"I'm sorry," Kagome blurted out, before the other woman could even open her mouth. "I'm just going to go get your drinks."

"Uh, no you're not," Inuyasha snapped, glaring at her. "You're seriously sorry?"

"I am if I want to keep my job!" Kagome hissed. "Now _enjoy your meal_." With that, Kagome stomped off to get the drinks.

Of course, it had to be at that moment Rin chose to round up on her. "What's wrong?"

"Inuyasha and his goddamn bitch of a date. Seriously, the guy has such terrible tastes in women. All he does is fight with them. No wonder he has a new girl every week – he can't keep one long enough. What a stupid dick." Kagome growled, staring at Kirara who noticeably said nothing and kept her head low while making the fresh drinks.

"You like him," Rin said, sounding almost in awe. "You like the guy. You're jealous."

Kagome turned around so fast she almost smacked Shippo in the face with her elbow. "_WHAT_?" she screeched. "You think I _like_ him? He's annoying as hell!"

"And he clearly likes you back," Rin said, grinning wickedly. "I mean, he only asks for you. He clearly likes you."

"Stop saying _clearly_," Kagome spat, unable to come up with anything more. "And he doesn't because he'd be taking me out instead of the stupid chicks he takes out now! It doesn't matter anyways – I don't like him or anything. He just tips really well."

Rin smiled. "Clearly."

Grabbing the drinks hastily, Kagome practically sped out of the back, going to Inuyasha's table and placing the drinks down. "And how is your food? Is everything cooked to your liking?"

Inuyasha was staring at her intensely. Yura the bitch just nodded absentmindedly.

_Well that's solid_, Kagome thought, turning around to her other table. _Way to lose a really good tipper, you idiot._

But even while she tried to avoid the table as much as possible, by the end of the night Yura the bitch still walked out screaming and Inuyasha still tipped her a lot of money.

Kagome gave him a small, apologetic smile as he turned to leave and in return, he smirked back. "See you Wednesday," he said casually.

Nodding, Kagome went back to work.

It wasn't until she was back in the kitchen that she realized there was no possible way for him to know her schedule. How the hell did he know?

It didn't really matter anyways; she was seeing him on Wednesday and while that made her do an inner dance, it also left her confused and more than just a little worried.

* * *

_Leave a review :)_


	3. The Entree

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha. I do not profit from this story._

* * *

**A Little Dessert**

_**The Entrée**_

* * *

Wednesday came after much prayer and much begging for the universe to be kind to her. She could only handle so much. She had three jobs to balance out rent, bills and old student loans. She worked from eight in the morning to typically midnight, depending on whether _Barrel's _was busy or dead.

For some unknown reason, Kagome was positive that she should get to work early. There was no particular thought in mind that screamed it, but Inuyasha's "see you Wednesday" had left her feeling anxious and excited and more than just a little confused.

What sort of guy brought in a new woman every week, only to ask for the same female server over and over again and practically pay her rent for her each night in tips? In Kagome's world, it just didn't make sense.

It did make sense the moment she stepped into _Barrel's Steakhouse and Bar_ forty minutes before her start time.

"Kagome!" Yuka called, smiling and waving the girl closer. "Come here, we must talk."

Watching Yuka warily, Kagome slowly made her way over. "I know that look. It's the complicated table-turning look. Should I be worried?" Peering at the board which held a basic map of the dining room floor, she searched for her section. Seconds later she found it with all of her tables covered in _R_s.

"A reservation?" Kagome asked, raising her brows. "I never get those. Kaede knows I hate them."

"It's Inuyasha's reservation."

Oh, well that made sense. It was how he knew she would be working. He made a reservation requesting her section – that was all. It wasn't nearly as worrying as Kagome originally thought it was. "How many?"

"Fifteen people – all adults, one bill." Yuka smiled. "It's going to be a good table. Kaede was practically jumping for joy when Inuyasha asked to make it."

Kagome frowned, wondering when he even made it. She sighed, deciding that the information wasn't that important. "Wait, fifteen people?" she asked, letting her frown deepen. "Don't tables bigger than twelve covers need more than just one server? Isn't that the general rule?"

Yuka nodded sadly. "Yup, that was the rule until Inuyasha broke it. He likes to point out very often how competent you are."

Perfect. This was just bloody perfect.

There was a reason that _Barrel's Steakhouse and Bar_ was able to charge such high prices and give such astounding service: each server didn't have a million tables. The general rule was each server was to have no more than four. With the huge mark-up in prices, servers generally saw greater tips than those who worked at lower-quality restaurants with over six tables at a time. One would think that the numbers couldn't add up like that, but apparently the good-natured service of the waiter and their time and care for the table was what brought in the big bucks.

_Fifteen people_, Kagome thought tiredly. It's not like she couldn't handle that if the tables were all separated out. It was just fifteen people demanding a million different drinks, appetizers, salads, entrées and desserts all at the same time screamed potential disaster – especially with the level of service _Barrel's _demanded.

Shit.

Hurriedly she got ready in the back, barely waving to Shippo who called out her name. She had to get ready. She dressed as quickly as possible, tying her tie hastily and checking the mirror while she pulled up her hair. She studied the board next, checking out who was managing and if there were any problems with food quantity. Filling up a mug next with boiling water, she grabbed a filter cloth and ran to her section. Every single glass in her section was to be shined and she did so dutifully as Yuka came to set up the fifteen-person reservation with menus.

"Are they here yet?" Kagome asked, looking at Yuka with wide eyes.

Yuka grinned. "Well your boy toy is here but I think he's the first."

Kagome scowled. "He's not my boy toy, just a really nice customer."

Yuka nodded, giving her a look that clearly stated she didn't believe a word she said.

"I'm serious," Kagome sighed, finishing the last glass and putting down the cloth and mug of steaming water. "He's nice but that's it."

"Uh huh," Yuka replied, not looking at her. "You don't start for another twenty-five minutes but if more start coming in I'll seat them."

Kagome nodded, looking around the restaurant. It had just opened an hour ago so the dinner rush had yet to hit. A couple servers were working – Shippo, Ayame and Hojo among her friends – and so far everything was running smoothly. As long as it stayed that way and there would be people to help her, then she was sure the night would be fine. It was Inuyasha's table, so while his guests were most likely trouble (if his dates had anything to say about that) he would be nice enough to her. Speaking of Inuyasha...

...Should she go and say hi? That would be the polite thing to do, wouldn't it? Yes, she's served him three times now and he's demanded her section so the least she could do to her helpful, pay-for-rent customer is to greet him individually. Yes, that's the polite thing to do.

Smoothing out her apron, Kagome shook her head at herself before heading towards the front. Yuka was standing idly at the host stand, waiting for someone to arrive. Inuyasha was just to the side near the bar top, Hojo frowning at him. When he saw Kagome he pointed at Inuyasha, raising a brow. Clearly Rin or Ayame had been talking to him.

Rolling her eyes, she ignored Hojo's chuckle before heading Inuyasha's way, watching as the man smirked as she got near. "Hey," she murmured, smiling shyly. How was she supposed to address the guy?

Why was he _so_ hot?

...Well, she never blatantly thought that before.

That's not a good sign.

"Hi," Inuyasha greeted, crossing his arms and tilting his head. His long black hair fell over his shoulders, deep brown eyes gazing into hers intently. "I hope you're ready for this."

"I was born ready," Kagome replied, grinning. It was strange, how it was almost _natural_ for her to speak with him. "Are you?"

Inuyasha scowled. "I wish today wasn't going to happen, really," he replied. "It's a company dinner. We managed to get this job we've been working our asses off for, so drinks were more than necessary."

"Ah, drunken coworkers aren't always the most fun," Kagome said, nodding. Actually she tended to disagree. Drinking with her friends here were probably some of the best times of her life. Inuyasha didn't need to know that though.

"Oh no," he corrected, shaking his head roughly. "It's not the coworkers, mostly my family that's decided to join."

Kagome could've died. "It can't be that bad." _Please don't let it be that bad. I wanted an easy night. I have to get up at six tomorrow morning..._

"Oh it's bad. The devil is easier to deal with than them."

_Fuck._

Inuyasha must have noticed the horrid expression on her face because he chuckled, sticking his hands in his pockets and looking down at the floor. "Yeah, I don't like it any more than you do."

"Oh- I don't mean-" Well shit. The idea of coming over and talking to him was to be _polite_, not to offend him about his family. At least he didn't seem to mind. If anything, he agreed. "Any tips on how to keep them happy?" she asked, smiling meekly.

Inuyasha looked up at her then, raising a brow. "If I knew, I'd tell you."

_Ah_. So he has one of _those_ families.

Suddenly a rather loud and booming voice came in, a tall man with brown hair and the lightest blue eyes coming over. "Inuyasha, you mutt, what are you doing so early?"

"It's my company dinner, remember?" Inuyasha asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "You fucking moron."

Kagome frowned. People didn't normally associate like that. One didn't call people "mutts" or curse at them like it was simple, pleasant conversation. Which is wasn't, because Inuyasha was clearly annoyed. "I'm just going to go and make sure everything is set up. Yuka will bring you in whenever you're ready."

Just then the man with the blue eyes looked at her, almost startled by her appearance. "Whoa, just wait a second there sweetheart."

Inuyasha's face instantly turned from annoyed to just plain pissed off.

Kagome looked questioningly at him. "Yes, can I help you?"

The man smiled, his tanned skin crinkling at the corners of his eyes, making him look nearly adorable if he smile wasn't so..._leering_. "Hi there, I'm Kouga Matsuno. You can help me by giving me your phone number."

It wasn't the worst line Kagome had ever heard. Actually, Kagome didn't think it was a line at all. Wondering if it was a joke, she looked at Inuyasha who seemed about ready to kill the man.

"Um, I'll keep the number," Kagome said quietly, unsure of what to do given Kouga's intense looks and Inuyasha's rather enraged behaviour. "But...thanks?" She cringed at how it sounded like a question, but quickly turned around and ran into the kitchen.

She nearly collapsed into Shippo. "Hey Kagome," he said brightly, flashing his big toothy smile at her. "How are you doing?"

"I'm not sure," she answered, unable to stop the half-smile spreading across her face at seeing her co-worker. "Ask me again in an hour."

"Oh," Shippo said, turning to the computer and inputting an order. "I thought you'd be dead by then considering you have a massive party to deal with alone."

Kagome laughed, reaching out to ruffle Shippo's hair before checking the features one last time. "You know me too well."

Five minutes later and she was back at the table, standing there frozen with Shippo and Ayame behind her.

"Wow, that is going to majorly suck," Ayame said, whispering in her ear so as not to be heard. "They look...rambunctious."

"That one guy is _sitting_ on the other guy's lap," Kagome replied, giving Ayame a sharp glare. "People don't do that at fancy restaurants. If you want to make out, go to McDonald's or a movie theatre. There are _standards_."

Shippo almost giggled. "At least your boy toy is there."

"Oh not you too," Kagome sighed. "He's not my boy toy."

"Kirara doesn't think so," Shippo replied.

"I don't either," Ayame added, grinning from ear to ear. "And Rin is pretty sure he's in love with you."

"I hate all of you."

Ayame smacked her arm lightly. "Nah, you love us. Give us a shout if you need help running anything, okay?"

Smiling at them both, Kagome waited a couple more seconds before approaching the table, hoping the smile on her face wasn't as false as it felt. She really hated parties. Kaede should've been smarter about this, damn manager. "Good evening everyone," she started, looking at Inuyasha with wide eyes. He didn't look happy either. "Welcome to _Barrel's Steakhouse and Bar_. My name is Kagome and I'll be taking care of you this evening. Can I start you off with some drinks?"

Normally, drink orders were never a big deal. People generally bought coke or wine, usually with ice water to be refilled at any time. This table however, seemed to defy all odds. Kagome was going to die.

"So you're telling me that it's Absolut Vodka and not Smirnoff?" the guy asked. This also happened to be the guy sitting on another guy's lap. She thought his name was Jakotsu, if she remembered correctly.

"Yes, it's made with Absolut." She wasn't sure how much clearer she could be about this. It was a simple yes or no.

"Huh," Jakotsu said, pondering about this. "I think I'll just stick with the water."

Okay then.

The worst part was, nearly the _entire_ table wanted an alcoholic drink. Maybe it was because everyone seemed a little tense. Kagome wasn't entirely sure, but what she did know was that Hojo was going to kill her. These drinks were some of the hardest to make.

Hojo was definitely going to kill her.

Plugging in the order to the computer, she soon went over to the bar. A Wednesday at five-thirty wasn't busy, especially in the bar area, but Kagome never minded because Hojo was one of the most entertaining men there. He was the shyest of the shy. He actually stuttered at times. And then he'd get behind the bar and dear _god_ he was a natural, smooth and very hot flirt. It was weird.

As expected, the moment Kagome showed her face, Hojo glowered. "You did this on purpose," he muttered, hands already full and moving with different bottles and glasses. "You totally did this because you're a mean person."

"It's not my fault!" Kagome complained, burying her face in her hands. "I get all the alcoholics."

"These aren't even alcoholic-type drinks. These are all for flashiness and show. If they were true alcoholics, they'd get the hard stuff, neat."

Kagome sighed. "Shippo was right. This party is going to kill me."

And it pretty much did.

She had to make three trips to bring out all the drinks. It just so happened that Shippo and Ayame were both running other food and the other co-workers she didn't like enough to bother them to ask for help. No one at the table seemed to mind, and they were all smiles and goodies to her.

Until the very last drink was put on the table.

"So, what are your intentions towards my son?"

"OH! That's a good question," a man with dark hair said, the one that had a lap-full of Jakotsu. Kagome thought his name was Naraku? "Please, do tell."

"Um," Kagome murmured, staring in absolute horror.

"Mom, stop, please," Inuyasha pleaded, looking somewhat helpless. Kagome almost felt bad for him.

"Inuyasha, let your _mother_ talk," another gentleman sneered, this one with straight black hair and honey-coloured eyes. He hadn't cracked a smile the entire time Kagome had taken care of him; he was straight to the point and rather blunt.

"Sesshomaru, fuck off."

"Your son has a foul-mouth," the Kouga guy said, laughing. Standing up out of his chair, he slapped Inuyasha on the back before sliding his arm around the waitress. "But we all know his chances with a girl like her are slim."

Kagome went from confused to pissed off in less than ten seconds. "I'll give you more time with the menu," she said curtly, excusing herself from the arm that was lightly on her waist before disappearing into the kitchen. She nearly crashed into Shippo – _again_ – as he was carrying a pitcher of ice water.

The moment he saw her face, he growled. "Who do I have to kill?"

"No one," Kagome sighed. "I just _hate _parties – corporate parties especially. They all try to one up the other. His _mom_ just asked me what my intentions are!"

Looking confused for a moment, Shippo finally clued in. "Your intentions towards the hot guy?"

Kagome frowned. "You refer to him like that?"

"Do you _hear_ Ayame and Rin? I can't think of another name for him," Shippo replied, not looking the least bit daunted. "Look, think of it this way. If he does nothing the whole night, you can finally see that he's a dick. It's his party and he should be apologizing for his guests if they're that out of hand. If he does apologize though...he could...you know."

"No, I don't know," Kagome said. When Shippo just stared at her, she groaned. "What is with all of you?"

"What? It's clear you think he's _hot_," Shippo responded, somewhat defensively. "You could at least give him a chance. I haven't seen you date a guy in forever."

"I don't normally have dates here," Kagome replied logically.

Shippo raised a brow. "And he doesn't come to visit you at work? Pick you up? Drop something off? Text you? Trust me, you haven't dated in a long while."

Kagome grumbled. "You shouldn't know this."

"You're attracted to him, yes?" Shippo asked, green eyes intense.

She blushed a little. "Maybe."

"And how big are the tips?"

Kagome didn't really want to say. "Pretty substantial." It was better than a dollar amount.

"Then he likes you," Shippo said firmly. "Now, that's enough girl stuff for me. I'm going to go take care of my tables. You okay?"

Nodding, Kagome waited until he disappeared before returning to her table. She put the smile back in place, feeling it turn a bit more real when she noted Inuyasha's obvious unhappiness at his guests and the quick snaps he gave when they said anything stupid to her.

The dinner orders weren't the most complex thing ever, but there were a lot of substitutions that kind of made it difficult when plugging it into the system. Appetizers were up first, so she printed off the order and gave it to the kitchen. She had noted a couple drinks needed to be refilled, so she came back to the table with a tray of various pop and water. For those that had alcoholic drinks, she double-checked before placing the order through and handing it to Hojo.

The expo started screaming for hands when the food was piling up in the kitchen, so diligently she ran around the restaurant, handing people their food and smiling at them when asking if they wanted salt or "fresh ground pepper". When she made it back to the kitchen, she printed out the order for the entrées, knowing the timing by heart now as to when they'd get their food. Hojo was finished with the drinks a few moments later and she picked them up, dropping them off at the table and checking to make sure no one needed anything else.

Before she left, she caught Inuyasha's dark brown stare and the small smile he held on his face.

Kagome grinned and went back to the kitchen.

Her appetizers for the party were all lined up and after shouting a rather loud "HANDS" she waited for Shippo and Ayame to come over and help bring out the food. Everyone was still working on their drinks, just starting to dig into their appetizers and Kagome breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey Kagome?"

Looking over at Inuyasha, she made her way to him, letting the small smile come to her face. "Is everything okay?"

Inuyasha snorted, turning away from his guests while he did so. "Can you please just keep the beer coming? I'm taking a cab home tonight and... If I'm going to survive, I'm going to need it."

Spying the gossiping and banter that surrounded the table, she couldn't help but agree. "I'll be right back."

Inuyasha smirked.

The bar still wasn't busy, but it was definitely picking up by the time she reached Hojo again. He raised a brow at the order but was silent as he filled the glass. "Rough night?" he asked, and Kagome knew he was referring to Inuyasha.

"There are going to be a lot more of these," she said in response and Hojo shook his head in pity.

Kagome dropped it off and cleared away some of the platters that were already free of food. The expo needed more runners for the plates, so she continued on with her duty of handing out tasty entrées and desserts, smiling absurdly with her "fresh ground pepper?" speech. When she knew the entrées would be out soon, she gathered the plate for steak knives and politely gave each guest at her table one, excusing herself if there was a reach. All of them smiled at her – or in Kouga's case leered at her – and soon, Kagome was a bit more relaxed with the craziness that was this night.

She checked on the table a couple more times, seeing Naraku and another man pointing at each other and arguing, Inuyasha's mother smiling fondly at the man she could only assume was Inuyasha's father, and Inuyasha himself half-smirking at the man named Sesshomaru.

Wait, never mind, that's totally a frown now.

She refilled drinks constantly, ran food constantly and got caught up in the rush as more and more customers entered the building. Soon her dinners were up, and the expo yelled for hands. Four servers helped her to get all of the food served right away, and Kagome couldn't help but sigh a little when she asked if they wanted some fresh ground pepper.

Four minutes later, Kagome checked on them. "Is everything to your liking?" she asked the table, waiting for the inevitable shoe to drop. It was very rare that a party didn't have at least _one_person complaining. She was surprised then when most of the table looked at Inuyasha, who was busy chewing on his T-bone steak, before they all smiled and shook their heads.

Kagome was infinitely grateful for the small break.

She brought out two more beers to Inuyasha, who at this point seemed more and more desperate to have them. She had a sneaking suspicion it was due to the arguable man – who was, from an observational note, very attractive as well – sitting beside him.

She was just about to head back and see if the expo needed any more runners when a large, warm hand grabbed her elbow. Turning around, Kagome blinked a few times when she realized it was Inuyasha, and that he was pretty close to her. Surprisingly close to her.

"I want to apologize," Inuyasha said in a rush, his lips thinning out in a tight line. "They are brutal people, I know. It's unfortunate that they're very good at their jobs."

Kagome laughed, shaking her head and letting her arm fall free of his grasp. "It's not _that _bad. It could be far worse. They could all be drunk and horny."

Inuyasha frowned. "I really don't want that to happen."

She nodded in agreement. "Don't worry about it, I get it."

The black-haired man gave her a lop-sided smile. "I wouldn't have brought them here if I didn't promise ages ago. Sadly, you have really good food."

"It's very delicious," Kagome replied, smiling a bit herself. "Just relax a bit, you seem like you're going to kill them at any moment."

"I want to kill them at any moment," Inuyasha shot back, raising his eyebrows at her. "Dealing with them on a daily basis from nine-to-five is hard enough. Dinner time is like time spent in Hell."

"You're exaggerating."

Inuyasha just scoffed. "Did you _hear_ my brother? He talks like a damn robot."

She thought about it for a moment. "That guy beside you, Sesshomaru?"

"How'd you know his name?" Inuyasha asked, looking suddenly horrified. "Please don't tell me you like that kind of thing."

Kagome thought it could be her imagination, but when she laughed and shook her head in a firm 'no', she swore she saw his body slump a bit in relief. "He's your brother?"

"Unfortunately," Inuyasha replied. "And the woman who asked you..." He coughed a bit, looking at the floor. "Ignore her, she really tries too hard." Kagome desperately wanted to know _what_ she was trying so hard for, but Inuyasha shook his head and smirked. "Anyways, thank you. I'll see you soon then, with more beer."

Smiling, Kagome nodded and watched as he headed towards the table.

Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but Shippo's words kept ringing in her head.

_If he does apologize though...he could...you know._

Letting that thought disappear, Kagome went back into the kitchen to ring up another beer.

* * *

The night passed quickly after that.

Sure, they took forever to leave. Most of them had quite a few drinks and Kagome made sure that all of them had a safe ride home as she placed the bill – with a ton of chocolate, mint-covered candies – in front of Inuyasha. It wasn't until an hour later when they all finally started to dwindle away, until all that was left was Inuyasha's mother, father and (apparently annoying) brother.

She was just about to get the bill, coming from the other side of the restaurant because she had just run some food to a table, when she caught part of the conversation.

"Kagome seems nice, you know." It sounded like Inuyasha's mother, the one that asks about her intentions. She couldn't help the warmth that crept to her cheeks. It was a pretty blunt question.

Inuyasha sighed, long and loud. "You're unbelievable. Mom, you can stop trying to get me women. Please, I will find someone eventually. Sesshomaru's not even dating and you don't bother him!"

Sesshomaru's monotone voice picked up. "What a shame."

Sarcasm was obviously not lost on him.

"Inuyasha–"

"Izayoi," a deep voice interrupted, probably Inuyasha's father. "Let's just go. I'm sure Inuyasha is going to start shoving us out the door soon if we don't."

There was momentary silence and Kagome backed away, wanting to give them more privacy. She probably shouldn't have even listened to what they said, but they were _talking_ about her! How could she not?

She was a terrible person and she knew it.

When she saw the three of them walk away, Kagome headed towards the table to see Inuyasha leaning against it, billfold in his hand.

"Looking for this?" he asked, smirking at her. At this point he'd had at least seven beers, so it was a bit toothy and far more adorable.

Kagome really ignored that last thought. "Maybe," she answered, smiling herself and taking it. She didn't bother to look at it, taking the receipt that was her copy and sliding it into her half-apron. "Happy that it's done and over with?"

"You can't even _imagine_," Inuyasha replied, rolling his eyes. "Fucking crazies, the lot of them."

Kagome just smiled. She didn't want to agree, even though she secretly did. "You've probably _Barrel'_ed yourself out, huh? It'll be a while before I see you?"

It sounded a bit desperate and more than a little bit wanting. Kagome wished she could take it back the moment she said it, but the way Inuyasha looked at her, the way he licked his lips and studied her face made her somewhat pleased.

"I guess we'll see," he said coyly. "It's pretty damn good food though."

"It is," Kagome conceded.

"And the service isn't half-bad either."

Smacking him lightly on the arm, Kagome laughed. "Do you have a cab?"

"It's waiting for me out front," he answered, tilting his head at her. "I'll see you soon Kagome."

"I guess we'll see," she retorted, throwing his own words back at him and grinning.

When he left, Kagome tried to stop the smile on her face. Really, it was just ridiculous. He was just a really nice customer and tipped her well.

Speaking of tips... She pulled out the receipt and almost collapsed into the chair. The bill hadn't been small by any imagination. It was close to eight-hundred dollars for all fifteen of them, before tax. He tipped her a solid forty percent – over three hundred dollars.

Kagome nearly cried out of sheer joy.

* * *

**_Comments to Acknowledge:_**

_EndlessIdeas:_ _I'm not really sure I know where I get these ideas. Sometimes they just pop into my head, like this story. Others come to me in dreams - Imaginary. Others come from listening to a song, whether or not I make a song!fic - Fallen Among Thieves. Anything pretty much gets me going. Thank you for commenting!_

* * *

_Thank you to all the wonderful reviews so far. I love to hear from you :)_


	4. The Dessert

_**Dedication:** to my Valentine and my love, Kinky-Hoe. I'm sorry this is late :(_

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha. I do not profit from the story._

* * *

**A Little Dessert**

_**The Dessert**_

* * *

Kagome...was never so unhappy in her life.

"_Behind!_" hissed Ayame, who Kagome nearly crashed into when she took a step back. Narrowly avoiding the spill of hot food and burning plates, she flashed one last smile at her table before disappearing into the kitchen.

Today was a nightmare.

It had started out that way too. She woke up late and got to her morning job late. Her boss yelled at her and she spilled coffee all over a brand new sweater. She had to wear the damn thing all day – _stupid 'no, I don't need a top under this' while she was rushing to get dressed _– because of her lack of contingency planning. When she finally made it home, it was a huge sigh of relief. She cooked a small dinner and watched television. Her boss at the morning job had pitied her after nine hours in that damn sweater, so she actually caught a break before heading towards_Barrel's_.

Of course, she fell asleep on the couch, woke up to her fire alarm because of the smoking saucepan and then had to calm all of the neighbours on her floor down.

But then she smelled like burnt food. So hungry and losing time fast, Kagome jumped into the shower. By the time she got out, she had ten minutes to be on her way to _Barrel's_ so as to not be late.

She was late.

Her hair was wet.

Now that she was at work, her hair was dry and a massive frizz-ball.

Her makeup? Non-existent as of today.

She looked like crap, she felt like crap, and all Kagome wanted to do was go home and sleep.

"Hands!" Rin's familiar voice yelled in the kitchen, and Kagome went over to help. The younger woman smiled at her slowly, as if she knew something secretive. "You okay there Kaggie?"

"That's a terrible nickname, and I'm fine," Kagome replied, trying really hard not to roll her eyes. "Just a few more hours and I can sleep."

Rin nodded and the two of them headed out to table thirty-six to hand out the dinners. After asking if they wanted fresh ground pepper, the short black-haired girl pulled on Kagome's sleeve and dragged her to a corner of the restaurant. "Are you sure you're okay? I mean, your boy toy hasn't shown up and you've been a bit frazzled since."

Kagome frowned. No she had not. She distinctly remembered noticing her _guest's _lack of return, but it wasn't bothersome.

Okay, maybe it was a bit disappointing. The guy was attractive, nice and... She'd been thinking. She'd been thinking about Shippo's words, the fact that they were _true_ and that maybe it wouldn't hurt to actually date again. Of course, then he never came back. It had been three weeks already. Normally by this time, she'd see him at least three or four times.

Realizing that Rin was still waiting for an answer, Kagome plastered on a smile and nodded. "I'm okay Rin, really I am. And it's not because of Inuyasha, I promise. He was just a recurring guest."

Rin looked at her funny before nodding slowly. "Right, a _recurring _guest. That's what they call it these days, huh?"

And really? Kagome was just too tired to argue.

"Kagome, there you are!" Ayumi said, rushing up to her with big eyes. "Your table – six – just spilled coffee everywhere. I dealt with most of it but you probably want to talk to them."

"Fuck my _life_," Kagome moaned, slapping her hand on her face. Why couldn't today just be a simple, easy night? It was Sunday night, that's why.

Sundays at _Barrel's Steakhouse and Bar_ were the sketchiest by far. The restaurant could be as dead as a grave or busier than most Fridays. It was the variable that managers hated to deal with and servers hated to work. Currently, this Sunday was a busy one.

Hurrying over to the table, she saw the two guys and one girl looking rather sheepish when she arrived.

"Hey, is everything okay? Are you hurt?" Kagome asked, eyeing the balls of linen napkins and dripping glasses.

The girl shook her head. "No, the coffee went to the side luckily. I was just wondering if I could get another."

"Absolutely," Kagome replied, already grabbing the napkins and finished plates and glasses. When the table was mostly clear, she smiled and then cleaned up in the back. She placed the order in the machine and then went to work at pouring it.

Last time she saw Inuyasha, he had ordered a last minute coffee. It was probably because of the overwhelming amount of alcohol she had given him that night, and coffee seemed to be a universal cure-all for virtually everything. He had smiled at her when she gave it to him. Kagome wondered if the girl would smile if she gave it to her.

Grabbing a wet dishcloth from the back and with the coffee in a tray on her other hand, Kagome exited the kitchen and headed towards her table.

"You can't get me!"

Kagome's eyes widened. Those were never good words to hear at a restaurant while holding a tray of steaming liquid. It meant that children were around and on the loose. She tried to watch and pay more attention, but all of a sudden a small kid burst out from under an empty table and landed right in her path. So as not to crush him, she spun around sharply and hit the wall, the tray smashing into it and falling all over her.

"Fuck!" Kagome screamed, dropping the tray and ripping the dress shirt off of her body. Thank goodness she had been smarter than this morning and wore a top underneath. Suddenly a rush of bodies were around her – the parents of the children, one of the guys from the table she was bringing the burning coffee to and...

Fucking hell.

"Let me see." The words were quick and efficient and Kagome didn't even process before she realized Inuyasha – _he was back_ – already had his hands on her stomach. A call from Ayumi was behind her, something mumbled about getting Kaede.

The coffee burned like a son of a bitch, so hot she wanted to curl up if she was positive it wouldn't make it hurt more. She was pretty sure it would hurt more.

"Are you okay?" an older man asked, his hands protectively around the little boy – _brat_ – that made her spill the burning liquid all over herself in the first place.

Kagome opened her mouth to speak, but found that a deep, male and clearly _pissed as fuck_ voice was already talking.

"What the hell do you think?" Inuyasha snapped, glaring at the man. "Maybe if you watched your kids at a restaurant that clearly isn't meant for them to run around in, this wouldn't have happened."

"That's enough," Kagome hissed, ignoring the flash of pain in her stomach when it clenched. "Sir, I'm fine, really."

Inuyasha scoffed. "Yeah, that's why you're going to blister on your chest where you only had one layer of clothing, damn wench."

"Excuse me?" Kagome's mouth probably dropped to the floor.

"What is going on here?" Kaede firmly interrupted, stepping between the concerned parents and Kagome. Inuyasha was awkwardly pushed aside, hands draping across her midsection as he backed off.

"Kaede, it's fine. I just need to be checked on," Kagome murmured, flinching when Inuyasha's hands touched a particularly painful spot. "I didn't want to hit the kid so I spun and the coffee spilled all over me." With the wet cloth she had in her hand before cleaning the mess, she dabbed at her chest. She was definitely going to be red.

"We're very sorry," the mother gushed, looking worriedly over at the waitress.

"Kagome, go to the back with Ayumi and get fixed up. I'll handle this," Kaede said, opening her arms to push the family back to their table. "Ayumi, can you make sure that Rin picks up her tables for the moment until I figure things out?"

Ayumi nodded, touching Kagome's arm lightly and tugging her back into the kitchen.

"Kagome," Inuyasha said, stepping forward with big brown eyes. "Let me help."

This was just too weird. "Uh, I'm not sure you can be back there," she said, frowning. "Look, I'll come find you, okay? Uh, yeah."

So maybe she was a bit dizzy right now. That had to be the reason she said that. Otherwise, why the hell would she come find him? She had been burned for fuck's sake.

The kitchen was busy with life, but Ayame stopped immediately the moment she saw Kagome covered in coffee. "Oh my god, are you okay?" the red-head asked, green eyes wide in horror. "You're burned."

"It's fine," Kagome replied, lightly pulling at the white tank top she was still wearing.

Ayame had none of it, following both Ayumi and Kagome to the back where the medical kit was. Ayumi wet a cloth with cool water, soaking it for a bit before lightly dabbing at her red skin. The burn didn't look that bad, but it certainly wasn't a small area. It covered most of her chest and small spots on her stomach that were mostly saved by her top.

"Can you bandage her up?" Ayumi asked suddenly, spotting Rin walking into the kitchen. "I need to tell her to pick up Kagome's tables."

Ayame nodded, removing the gauze from the kit and spreading it out to match the size. "What happened?"

"Some kid ran in my way and I was going to trip on them. So I spun around and managed to spill the coffee all over me," Kagome sighed, rubbing her face with the palm of her hand. "To make things worse Inuyasha's here and he _snapped_ at the parents."

Looking up sharply, Ayame grinned. "He's back?"

"This is not the time to be thinking about my love life," Kagome pointed out.

"Or your lack of one," the red-head fired back, shaking her head lightly as she placed the gauze bandage over the red burn. Getting the tape, she gently attached it to her skin and patted it down for good measure. "Are you okay now? I have some ibuprofen if you'd like."

"I'd love some," Kagome replied. "What about your tables?"

"All of them have already got their entrées. I'll check on them in a minute, it's no big deal," Ayame said, smiling. "You're probably not going to work the rest of the night, you know."

Kagome nodded, figuring that the moment Kaede was free, she'd release Kagome from her duties. At least she could go home now and sleep like she planned on.

_After you see Inuyasha_, she thought.

"Here you go," Ayame said, snapping Kagome out of her thoughts as she placed the pills in her hand. "Just take it easy, alright?"

"Yes _mom_," Kagome joked, rolling her eyes and swallowing the ibuprofen. "I'll text you later."

The moment Ayame walked away, Kaede and Rin entered the kitchen, zeroing in on her. "Go home," Kaede ordered, giving her a stern look. "I've got all your tables covered and talked to them all. You're free to leave."

"Thanks Kaede," Kagome sighed, smiling a bit. "Will you punch me out?"

When the manager nodded, Kagome went into the back room and changed into a light sweater and jeans, groaning when she realized she had yet again no top to go underneath the sweater. With her bag and purse in hand, Kagome waved at a few of her co-workers, set at heading to Inuyasha's table.

When she got there, he was already gone.

It was a strange feeling, disappointment. She didn't particularly like it.

_Don't be stupid_, Kagome chided herself. _Go sleep it off to a bad day_.

"Kaggie?" Rin interrupted, stepping close into her space and grinning. "Table fifty-two."

Frowning, Kagome watched at the short black-haired girl walked away. Was Inuyasha at a different table? Why?

_Probably for threatening to kill the customers._ It seemed more than likely.

Table fifty-two was one of the more secluded booths in the restaurant. It was tucked in the very back and was used rarely because the air vents were strange in the area and it was always too cold or too hot. At first she was sure it was too cold, she could practically feel the difference the moments she climbed the two steps.

Of course, then Kagome saw him smirking at her and it was quite amazingly hot.

"What the hell are you doing back here?" Kagome asked, frowning and stepped towards the plush booth.

Inuyasha's smirked widened, flashing a bit of pearly white teeth. "Isn't the bad language for a server?"

"I'm not working," Kagome responded immediately, looking around nonetheless in case anyone heard her. "Seriously, why did you move here?"

The black-haired man shrugged, picking up a spoon and dipping it into the brownie-chocolate ice cream dessert. "Well since you're off work but I wanted to talk to you, your manager moved me so we could chat and it wouldn't look like you got off work solely to be with me."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I got off work because I was burned, you idiot."

Holding up his hands defensively, the man continued to smirk. "I don't make up the rules, your manager does. She's quite the stern thing I'll admit but man, she's wicked at getting shit done."

"I'll tell her that," Kagome said dryly. "Is that all you're having tonight – dessert?"

Inuyasha nodded, wrapping his lips around the spoon and eating the chocolate ice cream. "Here, I've got two spoons. Finish it with me."

He was inviting her to eat with him. That was like...a quasi-date like thing, right? He had to like her if he was inviting her to eat his dessert with him. Or was it pity because she just got burned because of uncontrollable kids?

No. Shippo said he probably liked her and he was guy, so he would know.

Hopefully.

"I should probably get home," Kagome said weakly, watching the expression on his face. This wasn't a test; she wasn't trying to prove anything. If she was smart, she would head home.

Inuyasha had none of it, merely pointing the spoon at her and then the seat. "Sit down Kagome and eat the damn thing."

"You're bossy," Kagome huffed, placing her bags on the inside of the booth before grabbing the second spoon.

Inuyasha just chuckled. "No, I'm fucking awesome."

* * *

"When am I going to get _cut_?" Kagome whined, throwing herself on the host stand and flailing around dramatically. It was Monday. Monday's sucked. She was third last on the list of workers and their other manager – Totosai – had yet to release her from this place. She had zero tables. No one was coming in. There was an hour left.

Really, she should be cut so she could _go home_.

"I don't know," Yuka replied, grinning. "But to pass the time you can tell me all about your date last night."

Kagome smacked her head against the host stand. "It wasn't a date. We were just having dessert because he bought it and I was...hungry."

Yuka cackled. "Yeah _right_. It's obvious he likes you and you seem to have a little thing for him yourself."

"This is why I don't come up here," Kagome mumbled, keeping her head buried in her resting arms. "Honestly, nothing happened. We talked, we ate and we parted ways in the parking lot."

Kagome could practically hear the smile in Yuka's voice. "Did you get a goodnight kiss?"

"No."

"Did you want a goodnight kiss?"

"We're not _discussing _this."

"So that's a yes then." Yuka giggled then. Kagome wanted to strangle her.

Okay, so last night had been fun. It was probably the most fun she'd had in a long time. With two jobs, she never had time to hang out. That and between her best friend's wedding, things were nearly impossible. If she wasn't sleeping, she was working. If she wasn't working, she was wedding planning.

So eating dessert with a hunky customer that smirked instead of smiled and had these gorgeous deep brown eyes? It wasn't a hardship. It was _amazing_.

They had nothing really in common, so more often than not their conversations were heated or entertaining. He told her stories about his co-workers and the insanity that came with designing buildings. In return, she went on about outrageous customers and server horror stories. She didn't want the night to end. But when the restaurant was closing and she was starting to yawn, Inuyasha paid for dessert and said goodnight.

That was it.

"So did he ask you out for an actual date?" the hostess went on, obviously not deterred by Kagome's buried face and grumbled responses.

"No."

Yuka hesitated for a moment. "Huh. I wonder what that's about."

"I'll tell you what it's about," Kagome said, lifting her face only slightly to be heard. "It's about _nothing_. The guy just likes the dessert, or the food, or whatever. He brought a chick in every week – and yeah, his taste in women is _terrible_ – but he's not interested. And yes, I'm sort of maybe interested but at least I can blame that on being so busy that it would be nice to get out once and a while!"

"Well, in my defence I didn't get to choose who I went out with," a deep masculine voice reasoned.

Kagome wanted to die. Snapping her head up, brown eyes wide in absolute horror, she then promptly glared at the hostess who was trying to hold back a giggle. "Inuyasha, what are you doing here?"

Inuyasha raised a brow. "Getting food?"

"You were here yesterday." Kagome was more than just a little surprised. And shocked. And elated. _He's here_.

The dark-haired man looked around the front entrance, examining the walls before looking right back at her. "Is there like, a quota as to how many times I can come?"

Yuka rolled her eyes. "Yeah Kagome, it's a free country. Would you like a table in the dining room or the bar?"

"Dining room, please," Inuyasha replied, smirking mischievously. "Kagome's section."

Kagome whined. "But I'm leaving soon."

"You're not working?" Inuyasha asked, tilting his head slightly. He looked pretty damn adorable doing that. Kagome mentally cursed him.

"No but–" There was no point in explaining to him how working at a restaurant worked, not many people got it. "Come on, I'll show you in myself," Kagome said, wanting so desperately to sigh out loud. She was glad he was back. She was actually really glad, but she wanted to sleep and she wanted time to _think_ about things. Her last boyfriend had been almost a year ago and while things ended mutually, it was still a bit of a blow.

Kagome didn't want that with Inuyasha. "So why are you here so late? And how the _hell_ do you know when I work? Do you just show up and see if I'm here before you ask for a table?"

Inuyasha chuckled, shaking his head. "First off, work was a bitch and I just wanted some coffee and pie. Secondly: _no_. I paid the bartender to text me your schedule."

The bartender... _Hojo_? "You didn't," Kagome hissed, unable to process the fact that Hojo – sweet, kind Hojo – was subject to bribery and he gave Inuyasha her schedule on a weekly basis?

She was going to _murder _him after thanking him.

Inuyasha nodded sadly. "Remember the day of the party, before all of the others arrived? You came to talk to me. Well, the bartender Hobo came and started a conversation with me."

"I think you mean Hojo," Kagome corrected, still trying to process the whole story.

"Hobo, Hojo – same shit, different pile. _Anyways_, he casually attempted to ask of my intentions and then lightly implied that you were...available?"

Pointing to a booth in her section, eyes closed and teeth clenched together, Kagome slammed the menu down on the table. "He _pimped me out_?" she hissed, desperately wanting to scream at the top of her lungs so that Hojo could hear and then _FEAR_ for his life.

Inuyasha winced. "Uh, no? I kind of asked."

That didn't really make it any better. "You asked?" Kagome deadpanned. "Right. You with all those women coming in on your arm. I'm _sure_ you asked."

For a long while, Inuyasha just stared at her with those dark eyes, until he burst out laughing. "Are you _serious_? Okay, well the first one _was _my girlfriend – kind of. Why don't you...sit?"

Kagome looked around the dining room. Her section was fairly isolated from the rest and there was no one in the area to see them. Shrugging and somewhat praying her manager wouldn't see, Kagome sat down on the other side and listened.

"Kikyo was the first woman I brought in and we dated for _years_," Inuyasha started, shrugging. "It technically ended three years ago. It was a series of misunderstandings... It doesn't matter. We broke things off, neither of us really happy but we couldn't move forward."

Nodding her head and feeling something weird settle in her stomach, Kagome wished for a brief moment that she hadn't been the server taking care of them that night. It was only reinforced when he continued.

"We had been together for so long it was hard to know what was _apart_. We just kept...coming back together," Inuyasha explained, wincing slightly. "We had the same friends, same social networks. It was hard to go a day without hearing something about the other. We tried...a million times to make it work again. Every time something would break it up – on her part _and _mine." Inuyasha sighed, rolling his eyes. "When you served us that first night, it was both of our faults. Kikyo had been seeing this other man – I knew about him, didn't want to really believe it. But it wasn't like I was all that faithful either. I didn't _touch_, like she did but I wasn't exactly..." He broke off, wincing.

"You took to the _looking_ part," Kagome finished, putting her head in her hand. "Interesting, although that really gives mixed signals. I mean you were together for _years_, which is exclusive dedication and then after you were all...not dedicated?"

"We couldn't move forward," Inuyasha reiterated, like he'd said it a thousand times. "I don't cheat, I wouldn't–" Turning his wide eyes to her, he cleared his throat. "Um, can I have a coffee please?"

"Milk or cream?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha smirked. "What do you prefer?"

"Milk."

Laughing, he shook his head. "I definitely want cream."

"Did you want the pie too?" she asked, keeping her eyes down on the dark wooded table. When Inuyasha just shook his head, she nodded. Kagome got out of the booth, having strange mixed feelings about the whole thing. It made sense – his story made perfect sense. She knew a lot of people that did the same thing.

The problem was that she didn't _want_ that to be her. Inuyasha told her – and she believed him – that he was the faithful kind. She just didn't know him well enough yet to figure out if he was really telling the truth.

The kitchen was quiet. Most of the servers were gone, already finished with their tables. There was only two cooks on duty and a salad boy, all of whom were yelling about some type of band. Rolling her eyes and pouring the coffee, she grabbed the porcelain dish with all of the sugars and then a couple things of cream before heading back out.

She nearly ran into her manager. Totosai was an older gentleman, with greying hair and a long beard. His eyes were kind but rather large, taking up most of his face and always making her feel rather small. Her manager smiled a bit, pointing a finger at her. "You're cut, so when your tables are finished you can punch out and leave."

"Thanks Totosai," she answered, smiling at him before turning to punch in the order and heading back to Inuyasha's table.

The man was leaning in the booth, eyes closed and an expression of pure relaxation on his face. Kagome slid the plate with the coffee on it before sitting down across from him. "So what about the other women?"

Cracking one eye open, Inuyasha sniffed the air before looking lovingly at his coffee. "My mother," he said offhandedly, big hands engulfing the cup. "She started freaking out a while ago and when she heard that Kikyo and I were finally _done_, she set me up with Nazuna. When that _clearly_ didn't work out – not that I wanted it to since I would rather not even go near her – she tried to get me with Yura. I purposely pissed off Yura though."

Kagome frowned. "Your mom made you? How old are you?"

"Shut up," Inuyasha shot back, eyes flickering gleefully. "She just wants me to be happy."

Nodding, Kagome started to stand up, frowning the moment she felt a warm hand wrap around her wrist.

"Where the hell are you going?" Inuyasha asked, raising a brow.

"To do my job?"

"The restaurant is dead," Inuyasha pointed out.

He was right, obviously. It was nearly eleven now and only the strange people came in that late on a Monday. Glancing at Inuyasha, she sighed. "Why do you always come here? And for my section no less?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "There has to be a reason?"

"If there's no reason," Kagome started, feeling the tips of her mouth twitch up, "then it's probably stalking, in which case I'm calling the police."

"Okay, so there's a reason," Inuyasha finally said, taking another gulp of coffee before he could say more. Kagome just waited patiently. The man stared at her questioningly before tapping on the table. "Can I have the bill?"

Kagome balked, blinking. "Wait, what?"

"Can I have the bill?" Inuyasha repeated, a lot slower than last time.

Wasn't he supposed to be telling her a reason? Standing up, somewhat unsure, Kagome watched him even as she went back to the kitchen to get his bill.

When she returned, Inuyasha was gone. On the table was a smooth, pristine looking twenty-dollar bill with a happy face on it. While she couldn't imagine him actually drawing that, she really didn't think it was a coincidence.

Dear lord, maybe he was just a stalker.

Kagome shrugged, picking up the money. It was an eighty percent tip. She should be happy.

She really, really wasn't.

* * *

The next day, Kagome looked for him. She actually stayed and ate at the bar after, just in case he came in. Hojo looked at her funny and she desperately wanted to kill him but couldn't find the urge. She was too internally conflicted and the food that normally tasting so incredibly awesome was dry and bland.

She had the next day off, but on Thursday Kagome was so busy she didn't even realize Inuyasha didn't show up until she was driving away back to her house. She blasted the music after that, trying to drown out her thoughts.

The weekend was no better. Customers filed in as their menu included a brand new special, and pretty soon Kagome was so busy she didn't have time to think, never mind dwell on the fact that a certain hot, black-haired customer wasn't showing up.

The following Tuesday when she worked again, Kagome didn't bother looking.

Wednesday and Thursday she was too pissed off to actually care. What kind of guy said shit like that, loaded his whole ex-past on a girl and then _leave_? And the money, what was with that? At first it was generous. Then she thought it was a messed up way to catch her attention. Now, it looked a hell of a lot like pity money. Or some kind of money that wasn't good. Kagome had yet to make up her mind.

The week after, she just didn't give a shit.

That was probably why on the Monday exactly three weeks later she nearly tossed another table's dinner when she saw him sitting in her section. Dropping off the food and rushing through the pleasantries, Kagome practically jogged back to her section.

Yes, he was still there.

Looking right at her and smirking.

Damn him.

Gathering her wits about her and attempting to fuel all of her anger, she approached the table cautiously. "I'm sorry but I'm already cut. I can't get anymore tables, no matter what kind of crap you try to pull. I'm a free woman." Okay, so she could've done without the last part. Kagome still managed to glare at him though.

Inuyasha nodded. "Oh I know. You're not serving me – that red-headed guy is. I can't remember his name."

"Shippo?" Kagome asked, practically spewing fire. "Why?"

The dark-haired man looked up innocently at her. "Well you're not working."

"Oh screw it. You're just a pain in the ass anyways with the pity money and the–"

"Have dessert with me."

Kagome's rant halted rather instantly, her brown eyes looking down into his. "Pardon?" Not intelligent, but she currently wasn't going for that.

"Have dessert with me," Inuyasha said again, reaching out for a bit before pulling his hand back. "Please, let me make it up to you."

_No. Say no and laugh. Point at him or something. Throw his money back in his face – wait no, keep that shit. You need to live. Say no. Say NO._

"Why not?"

Fuck.

Inuyasha smiled. It wasn't even a partial smirk or an attempt at something non-genuine. The man was actually smiling, rather brilliantly.

Kagome knew she was screwed. "I just...I have one more table but they're just paying the bill. When they leave I can join you."

"I'll wait, don't worry," Inuyasha said, talking like she actually _would_ worry.

Kagome chose to take the high road and not mention his little escapade last time; rather she turned around purposefully and went to check on the other table. They had paid, left a twenty percent tip and Kagome soon found herself changing into normal clothes, getting ready to sit with Inuyasha.

"What are you _doing?_" Kagome hissed at herself, looking at the pale face in the mirror. "You're an idiot." She was an idiot. A total unbelievable idiot.

Taking a deep breath, Kagome snuck around the restaurant. She peeked around a half-wall that would give her a good view of the back of Inuyasha's head. He was still there.

That was a good sign, surely.

From the other side of the room, Shippo was smiling at her, holding up two big thumbs up. _Go_, he mouthed and Kagome smiled slightly.

Sometimes you just had to take a chance, right?

"I'm half-surprised you're still here," Kagome commented lightly, setting her bag down and perusing through the menu as if she didn't know it. She knew absolutely _everything_ about it, but she didn't want to look at him, not yet.

Inuyasha cleared his throat, scrunching up his face. "Your question startled me," he explained, reaching out to tap on the back of her hand when she still didn't look at him. "I mean I knew I was coming to see you, and only you, but I never really thought about the _why_."

"Stalker," Kagome announced in singsong, smiling slightly.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Look I'm not–"

"Hello you two," Shippo said loudly, bursting in and leaning rather precariously against Kagome's side of the both. "How are you doing this evening?"

Kagome grinned, poking him in the side. "I want ice cream dammit, so hurry up."

Quickly ordering what they each wanted, Inuyasha waited patiently for the red-head to disappear before continuing. "I...you know."

"No, sadly, I don't," Kagome replied dryly. "You talk a fair bit, but it's a lot of words and not a lot of meaning."

Inuyasha sighed. "Do you want me to finish?"

"Please," Kagome invited, gesturing between them.

Hesitating for only a moment, the man went on. "I like you. You're interesting to me – in a good way dammit. I mean, I want to actually talk to you _not_ in a restaurant. Get to know you and all that shit."

"All that shit, huh?" Kagome asked, laughing. "You're _so_ romantic."

"I'm really not."

"I couldn't tell."

"What, are you looking for fucking Casanova or something?" Inuyasha asked, raising a brow.

Kagome laughed, shaking her head. "You never cease to throw me for a loop. Honestly, you're here and then you're not here for weeks. When you are here I can't tell if you're flirting or friendly."

"Flirting," Inuyasha clarified, wincing. "I never really liked that much. I'm kind of new at it again."

Taking in a deep breath, Kagome figured it was now or never. "I'd like to go out with you, to a place other than this," she said quietly, watching his face for a reaction.

"Then let's go," he said, standing up rather abruptly and grinning. He reached out for her, hand extended and just waiting for her to grab.

Kagome stared at it for a moment before taking it, narrowing her eyes questioningly. "We'll miss our dessert."

Pulling her up, Inuyasha shrugged. "I guess it depends on what you define as 'dessert'," he replied, grin changing to a smirk while his eyes dropped to her lips. "Shall we?"

Kagome didn't really answer him, it was more of a noise or whimper than anything, but soon his warm lips were gently pressing against hers, pulling away far too soon.

"Then come on," he murmured, tugging on her hand.

Fleeing _Barrel's Steakhouse and Bar_, Kagome giggled as she ran outside into the dark night. For once, she was happy to be out, happy to be doing something other than all work and no play.

She'd text Shippo later that she'd pay the bill. He knew she was good for it.

With Inuyasha's fingers intertwined with hers, she smiled. Yeah, she was really good.

* * *

_**Note: **This story is complete. No more complaints about it please. I never claimed for it to be a long story._

**_Want a version for yourself?_**_ To get a copy of this story for you to keep, go to my profile - "Drabbles/Short Stories" and then "A Little Dessert." A link will be there to download it from for free._

_**Finally: **I really hope you enjoyed this little story of mine. It was a fun one to write and I really enjoyed every moment._

_As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts :)_

_Witchy_


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